This copy is for your personal non-commercial use only. To order presentation-ready copies of Toronto Star content for distribution to colleagues, clients or customers, or inquire about permissions/licensing, please go to: www.TorontoStarReprints.com

Acceptance rates for refugees to Canada decline substantially since 2006

Canada&rsquo;s acceptance rates for refugees have declined substantially since 2006 when the Conservative Party took office.

By Debra BlackImmigration Reporter

Thu., Nov. 1, 2012

Canada’s acceptance rates for refugees have declined substantially since 2006 when the Conservative Party took office.

And with new regulations to be laid out by the federal government in mid-December, some critics worry that the changes will make it even more difficult for refugees to seek shelter when they arrive at Canadian borders.

Data from the Immigration and Refugee Board of Canada (IRB) recently released to the Star shows that in 2011, the overall acceptance rate for the top 10 source countries — which include Hungary, China, Colombia, Pakistan, Namibia, Mexico and Nigeria — was 31 per cent, roughly 4,800 claims accepted out a total of more than 15,500 cases.

So far this year, the acceptance rate is around 28 per cent, with 2,449 claims accepted out of 8,646 cases.

That’s a substantial drop from 2006 when the acceptance rate was 47 per cent, with 5,024 cases accepted out of a total of 10,620.

Article Continued Below

Casting a net globally and looking at the acceptance rate of refugees from all around the world who apply to Canada, the numbers also show a decline — albeit not quite as dramatic:

• Global acceptance rates for 2006 were 46 per cent or 8,065 claims from refugees worldwide out of a total of 17,377 cases.

• Five years later, in 2011, global acceptance rates were about 38 per cent, or 12,537 cases out of 33,340 cases.

• To date for fiscal year 2012, 5,050 cases from around the world were accepted out of 15,005 applications — or about 34 per cent.

“The numbers are very disturbing,” said NDP Immigration Critic Jinny Sims. “Considering we’ve been a place of refuge for those forced to flee from their home countries, the trend is troublesome. It means Canada is abandoning the most vulnerable around the world and not living up to our obligations.”

But Anna Pape, a spokesperson for the IRB, denied this, saying “each claim is determined on its merits based on evidence and argumentation presented at a hearing, and the applicable law.”

“Refugee claims are individual and unique and each member will decide and consider many factors at a hearing. The result pertains to the individual. Acceptance rates will differ and often even between two people from the same country because they’re unique.

“You also have to remember the IRB is an independent tribunal that operates at arms length to the minister and our members are independent decision makers.”

A spokesperson for Citizenship and Immigration Nancy Caron added the new reforms and regulations are not expected to have a “substantial impact on acceptance rates as each case will continue to be decided on its individual merits.”

But Janet Dench, executive director of the Canadian Council for Refugees, says she believes that “in the last few years in particular the Canadian government is calling into question its role in giving protection to refugees.”

“We’ve seen a sustained attack on the refugees’ process and constant references to claimants being undeserving of Canada’s protection… The people who most need Canada’s protection are the least likely to get here.”

The test for credibility of refugees has also become much tougher in recent years, fueled by what many analysts describe as a Conservative Party bias against who they perceive to be illegitimate refugees.

The “precipitous” drop in acceptance rates has to do with a number of factors since the Conservatives took power, explained Lorne Waldman, president of the Canadian Association of Refugee Lawyers.

The acceptance rate for refugees has dropped partially because the nature of the countries of origin has changed in recent years, Waldman said. The government also has imposed visitor visa requirements on certain countries which effectively limits refugees from coming to Canada. The wave of Roma from Hungary, who are almost all rejected, also suppresses the numbers.

A 2011 report by Osgoode Hall law associate professor Sean Rehaag found a wide range of rejection rates among adjudicators who hear refugee cases, including one panel member who rejected all his asylum cases since his appointment in 2007. At least seven others had acceptance rates under 10 per cent.

“I think there is concern about the general climate,” said Osgoode’s Rehaag who authored the report on IRB adjudicators. “Ever since Jason Kenney became minister there has been a focus on enforcement and preoccupation with fraud or ‘bogus’ refugees. It wouldn’t be surprising if it has an impact on decision makers.”

Further complicating the picture is the soon to be revealed safe country list which will create two types of asylum seekers — those who are coming from countries deemed safe by Canada and those who are coming from countries that aren’t safe, said the NDP’s Sims.

As well, the regulation that gives refugees only 15 days to find a lawyer and prepare a written statement won’t allow claimants enough time to prepare their case properly and will make acceptance more difficult, said the Council for Canadian Refugees’ Dench.

More from the Toronto Star & Partners

LOADING

Copyright owned or licensed by Toronto Star Newspapers Limited. All rights reserved. Republication or distribution of this content is expressly prohibited without the prior written consent of Toronto Star Newspapers Limited and/or its licensors. To order copies of Toronto Star articles, please go to: www.TorontoStarReprints.com